Smoke Grenade
Nearly universally looked down-upon and often ignored, the Smoke Grenade is the COG Counterpart to the Locust Frag Grenade. It is easily identified, as the Smoke Grenade is smoother and has a more high-tech appearance than its explosive Locust contemporary. It also has an affiliation light that turns red or blue depending on the user. The Smoke Grenade is pretty self-explanatory. When it explodes, it sprays out a thick, white-gray smoke that floods a 30' radius. This smoke obscures anyone within the cloud, and is useful for a wide array of applications (most of which are listed below). Mostly, it provides cover and works as a form of stun grenade, but numerous uses exist beyond these. Smoke Grenades are only seen in Multiplayer. All players start with one; to get a different grenade (or more Smoke Grenades), one has to find a grenade pickup, and swap. Because the Grenade swapped from is left behind, Smoke Grenades are quite a bit easier to get than Frags or Inks. Uses and Tactics The Smoke Grenade is an effective tool, though one with a rather sordid history. It appeared first in the original Gears of War, where it was nearly universally reviled - all it did was obstruct vision, and it didn't disable targeting, so any attempt to actually use the smoke for cover was a risky proposition at best. Conversely, the Smoke Grenade got a new lease on life in Gears of War 2. Though it's not quite the offensive powerhouse of the Frag Grenade, and it lacks the area-denial capability of the Ink Grenade, it has a number of advantages over these, and several uses all its own. The Smoke Grenade has 3 main uses. Its fundamental (and obvious) one is to create cover. When a Smoke Grenade goes off, it creates a thick cloud of smoke that can prevent enemies from targeting those in the cloud. The automatic target acquisition system (I.E. What makes your cross hairs turn red when you're pointing at an enemy) does not work in (or from outside pointing in) the smoke. Because of this, the Smoke Grenade is a vital tool for providing cover on open-terrain maps, especially maps like Blood Drive, which have Sniper Rifles to worry about. Because of the Smoke Grenade's ability to provide cover and disrupt targeting, its secondary purpose becomes apparent. The Smoke Grenade, when thrown towards a position, can blind Torque Bow users (who rely on visual targeting), Snipers, and Boomshot users (who also rely largely on visual targeting). This can create the moment of distraction a team needs to get across a dangerous area, such as a courtyard or one of the open areas on Jacinto. The third purpose of the Smoke Grenade is that it now possesses enough impact when it explodes to knock down and momentarily stun anyone near the blast radius. In fact, it will cause players using a Boomshield to drop their shield meaning they will have the usual limitations and have a pistol out. Because stunned/knocked-down characters are easy pickings, the Smoke Grenade is quite useful for disorienting targets so you can get closer, get into position for the kill, or simply to get an enemy to stop whatever they're doing for a few seconds. Because of this, Smoke Grenades are quite effective - especially in conjunction with the Lancer (for easy Chainsaw Bayonet kills), Gnasher, and Gorgon. Set in Trap Mode, the Smoke Grenade can be used to stun and disorient enemies, or blind ones so you can lure them into an ambush. Smoke Grenades are also extremely effective at creating lethal traps when used in conjunction with the Ink Grenade. Place the Smoke Grenade, then the Ink Grenade directly next to it, the theory being that the enemy will activate both at the same time, and be knocked over by the smoke grenade, then incapacitated or killed by the Ink Grenade. The Smoke Grenade shows far more use even beyond this. It can be used, provided effective coordination with teammates, to signal the general location of enemies for allies in a good vantage point with the Boomshot, Frag Grenades, or Mortar. It can also be used to find evasive enemies that won't stop hiding; those in the Smoke will cough loudly if they're near it, even if the Smoke is harmless. Additionally, if you can tag an enemy with the Smoke Grenade, they'll be knocked down and the cloud will stick to them, creating a slightly more mobile smokescreen. Because of this, the Smoke Grenade can be used to disable an enemy for a quick follow-up kill. Though consistently looked down upon as being the weakest and "most useless" Grenade (a dubious honor that it owes to the first Gears, in which this was basically true), the Smoke Grenade of Gears 2 is actually quite versatile and very useful - correct use of it can make or break games, and can prove out-and-out vital if used at the correct time. You have them for a reason - so use them! Sometimes players melee with a smoke grenade on a player, people may try to track you down and chainsaw you. So after a smoke grenade tag, keep your lancer up if your enemy is still in the smoke or you hear another Chainsaw in the smokes. Category:Weapons Category:Gears of War 2 weapons